How to Play the MarimbaVarious playing techniques

How many mallets do you use?

In general, it is most common to perform with two (one in each hand) or four (two in each hand) mallets. However, there are also some people who use six (three in each hand), as well as those who take four in each hand for a total of eight, producing grand, stately tones. The key is to hold the mallets in such a way that the thumbs and index fingers can move freely, in order to adjust the distance between mallets to hit the intended tone plates.

Example of a performance with four mallets ("Waltz of the Flowers")

Example of a performance with six mallets (Resurrection Symphony)

Tremolo and glissando

When you want to lengthen a note: on a marimba, whose notes are shorter than those of a wind or string instrument, you repeatedly hit a tone plate, keeping the amount of time that the mallet in contact for any one blow as short as possible. Doing so makes it sound almost exactly like a single note is continuing for a long time. This is tremolo. During a tremolo, a soft mallet is usually employed. In cases such as when a player wants to play the marimba while performing with another instrument using one hand, the player may play the marimba by sandwiching the tone plates up and down between mallets. The glissando, in which the tone plates are rubbed to the left and to the right to produce a continuous sound, is another playing method characteristic of the marimba.
See these videos of performances.

A performance using tremolo

An example of a performance using glissando

You can express a Latin American sound using a Japanese one-yen coin?

Among performers who play the concert marimba on stage, some give character to their notes by taping Japanese one-yen coins one-by-one to each tone plate. This produces a sound with a Latin-American vibe. If you find this kind of timbre interesting, why don't you try using some one-yen coins?